Ryan Edward Ross

Ryan Edward Ross, PhD, serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Sciences and Research within the College of Health Professions at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). His research program centers on innovative rehabilitation strategies for stroke survivors, with particular emphasis on integrating aerobic exercise with conventional therapies to address both physical and psychosocial impairments.

Dr. Ross's primary research focuses on stroke rehabilitation mechanisms, exercise physiology applications in neurorecovery, neuroplasticity modulation, and depression management in stroke populations. His work investigates how aerobic exercise serves as a neuroplasticity primer to enhance responses to physical rehabilitation, with growing attention to comorbidities like obesity and depression that complicate stroke recovery. Much of his clinical work involves Veteran populations through MUSC-affiliated studies.

Analysis of his 2021-2025 publications reveals a strategic progression from mechanistic studies (e.g., BDNF dynamics, corticomotor plasticity) toward applied clinical interventions combining aerobic exercise with virtual reality, rTMS, and power training. His research consistently bridges physical rehabilitation (mobility, upper extremity function) and mental health outcomes, increasingly incorporating feasibility frameworks for complex multimodal therapies targeting stroke survivors with depression.

As Principal Investigator, Dr. Ross leads significant clinical trials including "Priming the rehabilitation engine: aerobic exercise as the fuel to spark behavioral improvements in stroke" (PRO00105988) examining aerobic exercise-enhanced rehabilitation for Veteran stroke survivors, and "Modified cardiac rehabilitation to enhance post-stroke physical and psychosocial function: does depression limit the response?" (PRO00140518) adapting cardiac rehab protocols for stroke populations with depression comorbidity. These studies reflect his commitment to developing comprehensive, depression-sensitive rehabilitation models.